This might seem like a pretty random topic to want to write an entire thread for, especially since I just recently posted another thread here... what was it, literally two days ago? As such, I apologize for the redundancy that me making this thread might carry with it, and as usual I'm giving the moderation team full permission to do whatever they'd like with it. Now that I've gotten this out of the way, let's get serious for a second. There's something I've wanted to get off my chest for years now, and I really wasn't sure how to best go about it. Maybe I'm in the minority on this opinion, but I feel like no matter what I've tried, no matter how long I've said I've wanted to try, my attachment to this franchise has only been fading over time. I've mentioned how I've felt about the state of the franchise many times before, but there's something I hadn't really acknowledged in those messages simply because... well, I felt too shy to do so.
When I mention things in Pokémon that one could call "your own", what exactly do I mean by that? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I've always loved reading people's stories about their favorite Pokémon, the games they grew up with, memories that have changed people's lives, and more along those lines. With the recent state of constant chaos the modern world seems filled with, whether that be because of a struggling economic situation, political tensions around the world, or even just the fact that I'm in my early 20s and never truly felt ready to start being more independent, it's all led me to thinking a lot more about my childhood these past few years. Yes, I get that there's a lot of you who are even older than I am, but whether or not that was true, the realization that really opened my eyes was that I've been following this franchise since the fall of 2010. The specific years don't matter as much as the fact that Pokémon's been in my life for over half of its entire duration, meaning that I've been a Pokémon fan for longer than I haven't been one.
I mention this statistic so I can get back to why it's important to try and find things in a media franchise to "call your own", so to speak. I've constantly been afraid of admitting that my time and resources are limited, and that the things I'll take for granted never last forever. In a fanbase where most of the attention generally goes towards the core series video games and the merchandise sales surrounding them, I find it almost poetic that through all of my ups and downs as a Pokémon fan, the one thing that's managed to stick with me over the past 13 years and counting was my life-changing experiences and memories with a Pokémon Ranger game released right around the time I started following this franchise. Getting myself set up during 2010 going into 2011 put me in a unique place where I never felt like I could fit in with the Generation 4 fanbase or the Generation 5 fanbase, more or less feeling trapped in the middle for several years. We aren't just talking about a game that got me invested in a series here. The whole theme of Guardian Signs being about history being forgotten over the ages has only resonated with me more and more over time as someone who's been looking for anything in the modern Pokémon era to call my own. In the moments that have passed since then, I've had memorable moments that probably don't mean much to anyone else, but rarely, if ever, would something come along and make me feel like I was meant to be a Pokémon fan to the extent that I am. It's because of all of this that I was able to make new friends after I moved schools in the third grade and beyond, and it was because of those friends and the support my own loved ones have given me that I'm even here today.
I'm sorry that this OP has been so long of me just... talking about my life, but I can't help but think, what if there's other people who need to open up, too? Certainly I'm not the only person here who could make use of recognizing and giving appreciation to the things in Pokémon I could truly call "my own", right? I'll admit that I wanted to write this thread so I could maybe feel heard or understood, but I also wanted to give you all the chance to feel the same. Like many others, I have my major gripes with modern gaming, especially with this franchise I'm afraid to admit I both love and hate at the same time. But knowing what I know now, if I were given the chance to go back in time and make it so I never became a Pokémon fan... I don't think I'd take that chance. There's no way of knowing how my life would have turned out. That's why I want to hear your stories and memories. If you made it this far, thank you very much for taking some time out of your day to read this thread. This might have been one of the hardest things to write that I've made in quite a long time.
When I mention things in Pokémon that one could call "your own", what exactly do I mean by that? To be honest, I'm not really sure. I've always loved reading people's stories about their favorite Pokémon, the games they grew up with, memories that have changed people's lives, and more along those lines. With the recent state of constant chaos the modern world seems filled with, whether that be because of a struggling economic situation, political tensions around the world, or even just the fact that I'm in my early 20s and never truly felt ready to start being more independent, it's all led me to thinking a lot more about my childhood these past few years. Yes, I get that there's a lot of you who are even older than I am, but whether or not that was true, the realization that really opened my eyes was that I've been following this franchise since the fall of 2010. The specific years don't matter as much as the fact that Pokémon's been in my life for over half of its entire duration, meaning that I've been a Pokémon fan for longer than I haven't been one.
I mention this statistic so I can get back to why it's important to try and find things in a media franchise to "call your own", so to speak. I've constantly been afraid of admitting that my time and resources are limited, and that the things I'll take for granted never last forever. In a fanbase where most of the attention generally goes towards the core series video games and the merchandise sales surrounding them, I find it almost poetic that through all of my ups and downs as a Pokémon fan, the one thing that's managed to stick with me over the past 13 years and counting was my life-changing experiences and memories with a Pokémon Ranger game released right around the time I started following this franchise. Getting myself set up during 2010 going into 2011 put me in a unique place where I never felt like I could fit in with the Generation 4 fanbase or the Generation 5 fanbase, more or less feeling trapped in the middle for several years. We aren't just talking about a game that got me invested in a series here. The whole theme of Guardian Signs being about history being forgotten over the ages has only resonated with me more and more over time as someone who's been looking for anything in the modern Pokémon era to call my own. In the moments that have passed since then, I've had memorable moments that probably don't mean much to anyone else, but rarely, if ever, would something come along and make me feel like I was meant to be a Pokémon fan to the extent that I am. It's because of all of this that I was able to make new friends after I moved schools in the third grade and beyond, and it was because of those friends and the support my own loved ones have given me that I'm even here today.
I'm sorry that this OP has been so long of me just... talking about my life, but I can't help but think, what if there's other people who need to open up, too? Certainly I'm not the only person here who could make use of recognizing and giving appreciation to the things in Pokémon I could truly call "my own", right? I'll admit that I wanted to write this thread so I could maybe feel heard or understood, but I also wanted to give you all the chance to feel the same. Like many others, I have my major gripes with modern gaming, especially with this franchise I'm afraid to admit I both love and hate at the same time. But knowing what I know now, if I were given the chance to go back in time and make it so I never became a Pokémon fan... I don't think I'd take that chance. There's no way of knowing how my life would have turned out. That's why I want to hear your stories and memories. If you made it this far, thank you very much for taking some time out of your day to read this thread. This might have been one of the hardest things to write that I've made in quite a long time.
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